Roundup: Holiday Style, Sparkle-Free Edition

Because, velvet

Holiday parties are easily one of my favorite parts of being an adult. Since my friends and family are either not of the marrying age or not the marrying type, holiday parties are my yearly opportunity to buy a fancy dress, eat tiny appetizers, and dance the night away with Michael in a room filled with people I genuinely enjoy. With Michael’s company gala coming up in a few weeks (engineers, man, they know how to throw down), I’ve spent the better part of my free time the past few weeks scouring the internet for the perfect dress to match the occasion. My requirements for the perfect holiday dress make this task an enjoyable challenge:

Nothing over $150 (I may have cheated on a few for this roundup, but you and I both know these things are going to go on sale in a few days anyway.)

Nothing that reads as too “holiday”; I can only justify the expense if I’m going to wear it again.

Normally I’m a sucker for sparkles this time of year (and don’t worry, we’ve got that roundup coming for you soon), but lately I’ve been drawn to more matte textures: velvet, leather, lace. It’s not easy finding the right combination of awesome in one of these fabrics, so today I’m passing along all of my best finds to you. If someone doesn’t buy the purple velvet dress below, I think I might just give up and go home.

Maddie Eisenhart

Maddie is APW’s Digital Director and Style Editor. She’s been writing stories about boys, crushes, and relationships since she was old enough to form shapes into words, but received her formal training (and a BS) from NYU in Entertainment and Mass Media in 2008. She now spends a significant amount of time thinking about trends on the internet and the future of Miley Cyrus’ career. A Maine native, Maddie currently lives on a pony farm in the Bay Area with her husband and their lazy mastiff, Juno. Current hair color: Pink.

When I first started my business, I heard two pieces of advice repeated over and over again in photography forums online: back up your work and get business insurance. My company was in its infancy at the time, but I figured that if enough people were saying these things, there was probably a kernel of truth to it. So in the mad dash before my first big wedding, I faxed an application for business insurance and forked over a few hundred dollars for the comfort of knowing that my gear would be protected.…

Wait, do people actually have fancy-dress holiday parties? Because I see these lovely round-ups every year, but I’ve never had a party to wear such a pretty dress to!

TeaforTwo

Emmy, I know what you mean! My family and friends are pretty casual at the holidays, although I like to go hear the Messiah every year, which is usually an excuse to dress up a bit. Fortunately, I am marrying into a family that has a fancy dress-up party every boxing day, and I start thinking about my outfit months in advance, because tights and sparkles are my favourite things to wear.

http://www.thehousealwayswinsblog.com/ Rachel Wilkerson

I’ll second what Maddie says…engineers know how to throw down! Now that I’m marrying one, I get in on their fancy holiday parties!

Also, when I was in college, my friends just threw a fancy dress party every December so we had an excuse to wear fancy clothes. Highly recommend.

http://www.thehousealwayswinsblog.com/ Rachel Wilkerson

PS During the holidays, I kinda feel like you can wear fancy dresses or holiday sweaters or whatever over-the-top holiday look you love basically anywhere and you’ll never be overdressed.

Shotgun Shirley

And if you get there and feel overdressed, just leave early and say you have another engagement… or play it safe, get there late – you just came from something fancier (but not as fun as you guys who are the best, obvs).

Katie Schwing

I also have friends who throw fancypants birthday parties from time to time — hey, if it’s your birthday party, you make the rules!

Sonarisa

Emmy- this exactly! I found an amazing sequined gold dress in a store a couple days ago and thought back to these round -ups. Still trying to figure out a reason to get that dress, I made the mistake of trying it on and I looked fabulous. If I wasn’t planning a wedding in March, I’d be tempted to throw a cocktail party, but I’m 4 months away from the date, and my friends aren’t the type to dress up for an apartment get-together anyways.

Kayjayoh

I have a friend who specifically does a black-tie party every year. Aside from the clothes, it is the same house party he always has, but we all get to dress up. Also, I dress up for NYE, no matter what we are doing. Back when I was still with my worst ex ever, I wore a cocktail dress, opera gloves, and a tiara to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVR in his room.

Maddie Eisenhart

You are my hero.

Laura

Man, I just don’t people who like to dress up. We dress up for new years every year though, whether we stay in or go out, so that’s fun.

Guest

(nevermind, I just found the link I was looking for.)

Maddie Eisenhart

You can! I just realized that the link doesn’t look like a link when it’s formatted that way, but it can be yours! http://bit.ly/1842qzj And surprisingly not the most expensive of the bunch.

TeaforTwo

My M of Honour is wearing this in my Christmassy wedding, and you should wear it somewhere this season, too.

I’m also a huge Modcloth fan! I bought my wedding dress there for $60!

MrsM

First – THANK YOU for including a plus size option in each category! And second – my wife and I are bringing back the dressi’ness to our family holiday gatherings this year because we bought killer outfits to attend a late Fall wedding this year. We’ll be overdressed in comparison – but hey its our first holiday as wives and we feel like looking fancy! Yay for gettin all gussied up!

And where was that white with black flowers Mod Cloth dress when I was wedding shopping?! I totally would’ve rocked that as a wedding dress!

TeaforTwo

The link from the Eliza J dress doesn’t seem to be working. This is a problem, because I really, really want to buy that dress.